Author Jojo Moyes: Me Before You, Rejection & Starting Again In Her 40s
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What struggles did Jojo Moyes face before her success?
Six rejections come back. I'd written three books by then. But then I pitched Me Before You. I went from selling a handful to 60 million. And that all happened in my 40s and 50s.
Wow. Jojo, you are a fantastic wordsmith and a worldwide bestseller writer.
Me Before You went round the world. I used to joke that I was like a cockroach. Terrible things can happen, but there is something in me that just keeps ploughing on.
How did Jojo navigate loneliness and independence in her childhood?
If I'm honest, I would have liked to feel less lonely. But... I read a lovely thing recently which was, I bet you turned into the adult that you needed as a child. Oh God, sorry. What are you doing to me? I'm sorry. I was trying on versions of myself and then suddenly in a newsroom I suddenly had a focus.
You getting into journalism was the first step towards the power. of the written work.
So I wrote Me Before You and suddenly got so many offers of work in Hollywood. What happened then? My mum died and I got divorced. And then it was just survive. That's a lot of grief. The world will have its way with you.
You just have to keep bouncing back. I want to ask you about dating in midlife, but also your top bits of advice for anybody watching this who is getting divorced. The very, very first thing is First of all, I just want to say welcome to our humble abode, Jojo. Do you know, it's funny because we've met before.
What challenges did Jojo encounter after achieving success?
We did. We met at quite a strange period of both our lives, I think. Yeah, and I want to tell you that I knew we were kindred spirits. Well, we cut straight to the bristle, didn't we, that evening. And I couldn't wait to get you on here because... of the number of times that you have pivoted or begun again. And I love the way that you are able to verbalize that because obviously you are a fantastic wordsmith and a worldwide bestseller writer, but also you are a very wise and sage woman and it's just nice to have you on. So welcome.
That's really kind of you. Thank you.
So often I don't do this. I don't start at the beginning, but I would like to start with your upbringing in the East End and with your parents, because you had quite different parents for the era. Like they were quite bohemian.
Yes, it's quite funny because. you always assume that your own parents are the norm and it was only when I kind of got quite a bit older that I thought no not everybody's parents had a tortoise walking around the house and free roaming free roaming and sort of a yeah that they someone described them as hippies with a work ethic and I think my dad would bristle slightly at the idea of him being a hippie but if I look at the pictures? They're not far off. They were very hardworking though, both of them. So there was never any kind of lying around getting stoned. It wasn't that kind of a hippie. I think they were very arts-minded. They were a bit alternative. But my abiding childhood memory is of them working.
I was either out with my dad in a van or I was sitting under my mum's desk while she painted. She was an illustrator and he set up a company that moved works of art.
How does Jojo manage the emotional impact of her divorce?
So that's my childhood memories is working.
And both of those jobs based around extremely creative work. process.
Yeah. I mean, it was kind of an extraordinary childhood when I look back, because my dad set up this company called MoMart, which grew. And it was basically lots of warehouses that were full of works of art. Everything from kind of priceless, I don't know, David Hockney's or Van Gogh's, to Paul McCartney storing the Beatles' from Sergeant Pepper. Wow. So, you know, I was a cleaner there for a while and I would just sort of pot around and, you know, you'd be confronted by these extraordinary things. And I think you take on some of it by osmosis. I didn't ever want to be a visual artist, but I think there's definitely something about being around all that creativity that fed in. But I think the most...
important thing I saw with them was just work. You copy what you know, and they were always working.
What insights does Jojo share about dating in midlife?
So I just thought that's how you exist in this world. You work. And I grew up in the 70s and 80s at a time when you could still rely on working hard to get you somewhere.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What struggles did Jojo Moyes face before her success?
0:00–0:25
2
How did Jojo navigate loneliness and independence in her childhood?
0:25–1:30
3
What challenges did Jojo encounter after achieving success?
1:30–3:21
4
How does Jojo manage the emotional impact of her divorce?
3:21–4:23
5
What insights does Jojo share about dating in midlife?
4:23–5:23
6
How has Jojo's relationship with her ex-husband evolved?
5:23–7:12
7
What lessons did Jojo learn about resilience and self-advocacy?
7:12–8:18
8
What is Jojo's advice for women navigating life changes in midlife?
8:18–1:11:37
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Begin Again with Davina McCall
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Begin Again Moments: Growing Up With A Narcissistic Parent
Liz Houghton: Losing My 20-Year-Old Son & How To Keep Living When Your World Ends
Begin Again Moments: Hitting Rock Bottom And What Comes Next
Caitlin Moran: “I Thought My Brain Had Broken” Becoming Hopeful After A Life Of Anxiety